


Science and Hypocrisy

by CombineGLaDOS



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Hypocrisy, Science Experiments, There is some gency here, self experimenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 04:35:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13473810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CombineGLaDOS/pseuds/CombineGLaDOS
Summary: Mercy has a huge issue with how Moira goes about her work, Moira finds out she really isn't one to criticise





	Science and Hypocrisy

**Author's Note:**

> ~~On today's episode of Aleks couldn't think of a title~~  
>  Cheers to TwoHeartedAlien for helping me edit this

When Moira first arrived at Overwatch, she was amazed by the facilities on offer to her. The research she could conduct seemed limitless, and with various members of the group always looking for a competitive edge in the field, it seemed as though she would have an endless list of willing test subjects. She was aware that she wouldn’t have the facilities to herself, especially given how expensive some of the equipment was, but she didn’t mind sharing, as long as who she worked stayed out of her way.

Unfortunately, she had no such luck. Dr Angela Ziegler seemingly lived up to her name and everyone else seemed to hold the same opinion. Moira had enjoyed working with her at first, but it quickly became clear to her that Ziegler was so steadfast with her morals that working even in the general vicinity of her was enough to drive her up the wall.

For someone who created the technology that without which many a soldier would have died, she definitely seemed reluctant to test  _ anything _ . When Moira had confronted her about her distaste towards ‘trial and error’, she nearly bit her head off, incessantly going on about how you should be sure there will be no ill effects before testing anything on anyone, regardless of whether they are willing.

“How do you run your experiments then? Certainly, you cannot be sure without a volunteer.” Moira questioned as she watched the solution in her flask change colour from gold to a deep purple.  _ That’s certainly not what it’s supposed to do… _

Angela sighed and removed her glasses, rubbing her temples as she spoke, “It’s nanobiotics. I can run simulations first, then confirm the outcome of the solutions on tissue samples,” She replaced her glasses, not even bothering to look at Moira, who had since turned herself to face the other doctor entirely, “I can test well enough for ill effects on those, then test for positive effects on people.”

Moira didn’t  _ really  _ believe her. She knew as well as anyone in her field that simulations and tissue samples were nothing compared to a real, living human to test on, but she could tell Angela was already frustrated with her, and thus let it drop.

*****

Once a few months had passed, Moira’s ethically questionable experiments and Angela’s constant need to be the epitome of good finally clashed, leading to Strike Commander Morrison and Commander Reyes deciding it would be best for her to be removed from Overwatch and picked up by Blackwatch. It came with the perk of her own lab thanks to Blackwatch’s funds, so she could work as she wanted. That, and the fact Blackwatch was strictly needs to know, so the public was none the wiser that she was still technically with the organisation she had, probably rightly, been booted from.

Of course, working for Blackwatch meant working  _ with  _ Blackwatch, with Genji Shimada becoming the most recent person to come under her care. He was mostly machine now, but there was enough human left in him for him to be a viable test subject for her, and given his distaste for his current state, he should be more than willing.

The latest thing Moira had come up with was a serum with rapid regeneration potential. She hadn’t tested it, but reasoned that Genji would be more than interested if she could find a way to have the nanobiotics contained within regenerate lost tissue. It didn’t take a genius to realise how having a mostly mechanical body destroyed Genji emotionally.

She found him in the cafeteria, sat across from Jesse McCree who was gesturing wildly with his hands while he talked about how his hat was actually cool, something Moira really had no interest in. The cowboy went quiet when she slid onto the bench next to Genji, and she wasn’t entirely oblivious to the way Genji flinched away from her.

She  _ loved _ the way she made these boys uneasy.

The three of them sat in silence for a moment before Genji broke it to greet her, Jesse following his lead. Once that was out of the way, they were back into the uncomfortable silence. Moira didn’t want Jesse around during this discussion, seeing as he didn’t like her and his closeness to Genji would most likely lead to him talking him out of consenting. The only person who would be worse to be around would be Angela, but she was sat at the other end of the cafeteria with Captain Amari, Reinhardt and Torbjörn, and had yet to notice her presence.

Thankfully, after a few more minutes of unease, Jesse realised he had training with Reyes and quickly bid his farewells. Moira didn’t miss the apologetic look he shot Genji as he made his exit.

“Was there something you wished to discuss, Dr O’Deorain?” He asked, looking at his half-eaten tray of food rather than her.

“Yes, actually.” Moira leaned forward slightly so that she would clearly be in the corner of his vision. “I’ve been working on a new set of nanobiotics. These ones should be able to regenerate damaged tissue rapidly, and I’m developing it with a view to create a batch able to regenerate any tissue that had been lost.” Genji’s turned his head, interest clear on his face. “I haven’t been able to test it yet, and was wondering if you would be willing to help.”.

The interest on his face quickly changed to conflict, and he broke eye contact to turn and look at Angela. Moira followed his eyes and saw the way his girlfriend smiled at him, only to glare at her before returning to whatever conversation she was part of.

“I…will have to consider your offer. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but it seems risky.” Genji finally answered. Moira knew he was lying about trusting her, she knew full well he didn’t. She also knew that, because he hadn’t said yes right away, he likely never would.

Her suspicions about him never saying yes if he didn’t in that moment proved correct when in the early hours of the morning there was a knock on her door, the sound so loud and violent Moira was genuinely impressed and surprised that the door hadn’t come flying of its hinges.

She grumbled as she got out of bed, brushing her hair back with her hand before she reached out to open the door. On the other side stood Angela, face bright red and eyes filled with fury. Genji was behind her, also looking angry but nowhere near as pissed off as the Swiss woman.

“Dr Ziegler, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Moira greeted, not letting herself get psyched out by look on the couples faces.

“Genji told me about your proposition,” Angela began, “And we both want to let you know that if you  _ ever _ ask him or any of our friends to be a test subject ever again, we’re taking this straight to Jack and Gabriel and you can pack your things and leave.” Angela got more riled up as she continued on, aggressively taking a step forward as she finished, Genji quickly reaching out to stop her moving any closer.

Moira just chuckled, completely unfazed by the ball of fury Angela had clearly become, “Is it he who doesn’t want the help, or is it just you letting your relationship cloud your judgment and making the decision for him?”

Genji still had his hand wrapped around Angela’s arm to stop her pouncing at Moira like she clearly wanted to, but took a step forward himself. “I don’t want anything to do with your experiments. Not now, not ever.  I agree with Angela over what we will do if you try this again.”

Moira looked between them for a second, and could clearly see anything other than admitting defeat would not placate the situation. She could always fight with Angela over this in a couple of weeks, when she didn’t look ready to snap her in two, anyway. 

“Very well, I won’t bother you again.”

Angela looked like she was going to say something else but obviously thought better of it and began to stalk away, Genji in tow.

_ Oh well. There’s always other subjects, willing or not. _

*****

In hindsight, maybe she should’ve trusted the technology Angela had developed for healing. Yes, using it as a finite resource was filled with risks, and yes, trusting a staff that could continuously generate the biotic technology required for healing to not give up was not much better, but nothing was worse than what Moira had just put herself through.

Ever since she had been told to never ask people to take part in her experiments, she’d had to move onto less willing participants which was completely acceptable to her. It did, however, come with the small issue that it was significantly easier to be caught using unwilling test subjects than it was willing ones. As a result, Moira began to experiment on herself.

Most of her experiments worked well. She would occasionally become ill, or have a new wound she’d have to explain somehow, but nothing that happened as a result would arouse too much suspicion. At least, that was until she decided to inject a technology into herself that would allow her to drain enemies biotically while replenishing her own supply of biotic technology with which to heal.

Her right arm throbbed and turned a light shade of blue. She watched as the veins beneath her skin became darker and hissed with pain when she tried to curl her hand into a fist. This certainly wasn’t what she wanted to happen, but it was too late for that now. She had to ride through the pain and hope what she had done had worked. There was no covering this up.

Eventually, the constant throbbing in her arm seemed to pass, and she could move it without too much pain shooting up the limb. She made her way over to the test tube filled with the solution that went into Angela’s staff and tried to draw from it, face lighting up as it worked for a brief second. Unfortunately, after a too short period she found herself unable to draw anymore, and a glance at her arm revealed that it had seemingly healed itself.

_ A shame…perhaps next time I will get a more permanent change. _

Moira had been so distracted by the pain and test that she hadn’t noticed Angela coming into the room. She was looking at her with pure disgust.

“You stopped experimenting on random people, I’ll give you that.” Angela began, Moira already on the verge of zoning out from the conversation. “But experimenting on yourself? How desperate are you to get your…’creations’ to work?”

Moira shook her head. While the physical effects of her experiment had gone, the toll it took mentally was weighing on her, and she really didn’t have the energy for this right now. 

“Dr Ziegler, I have not harmed a person other than myself with this experiment. I have suffered no ill effects. If you wish to complain, do so, but know I won’t listen to you.” Moira grumbled, making eye contact with the other doctor, who clearly wanted to chew her out.

“I will ignore this this time, but if I find you doing this again I  _ will _ report you,” Angela glanced around the room before her eyes settled on the report Moira had taken with her to aid in her experiment, a report that belonged to the other woman, “The same goes for this.” Angela held the wad of paper up before stalking out the room.

Of course, Angela still laid into her over the experiment three days later, but by then Moira was more than fit enough to fight back, not holding back when she accused Angela of being too guided by her morals and ethics for her own good.

*****

Ever since she ended up with Blackwatch, it was rare that Moira found herself venturing towards Angela’s workspace to ask to borrow equipment, normally only venturing there to ‘borrow’ some research. They had access to most of the same technology, but Moira really needed another nanotech container, and Angela’s lab was the only other place to get one at the present moment.

She knocked on the door when she arrived, knowing Angela never appreciated it when she burst in. After a minute and several more attempts at knocking, Moira assumed Angela had left her lab in search of coffee and let herself in.

The sight before her filled her with glee.

Angela was curled up on the floor, one arm rested over her stomach as she groaned in pain. Beside her was a biotic applicator with an empty vial in the slot. Clearly, Angela was as big a hypocrite as she was a pacifist.

“What do we have here? Is the infamous Dr Ziegler experimenting on herself?” Moira smirked as she walked over and crouched down beside Angela. 

When Angela’s eyes flicked up to look at her, Moira noticed how bloodshot they were, how tears threatened to fall from them. It was clear she was in an ungodly amount of pain, and if Moira didn’t resent her so much, she would have felt bad for her.

“Moira… Ple-Please. Get the neutraliser.” She stuttered, forehead breaking out in a cold sweat.

“And why would I do that?” Moira asked, gleefully. She was enjoying this far too much for her own good. Angela let out a pained hiss between her teeth, throwing her head back. 

“Are you really that desperate to get your ‘creations’ to work?” Moira did her best to imitate Angela’s accent, knowing it would piss her off even more in this situation.

Angela let out a frustrated and agonised scream before making eye contact with Moira again, “It  _ hurts! _ Gottverdammt help!” She pleaded.

Moira was about to gloat further, loving every moment of seeing Overwatch’s angelic doctor like this, when things took a very sudden turn for the worst.

Angela coughed twice, before she heaved and vomited blood onto the white tile of the lab.

_ Fuck!  _

Moira’s shit eating grin quickly fell from her face as she glanced around, looking for the neutraliser, unable to see it anywhere, “Angela, where is it?” This really wasn’t nearly as fun when there was a very real risk of Angela bleeding out on the floor. Instead of answering, she just coughed up more blood, “Angela! I need to know!”

As soon as Angela weakly pointed in the general direction of the neutraliser, Moira was on her feet and scrambling through the piles of papers on the desk to find it, ignoring how Angela coughed harder as her situation grew worse by the second. No sooner had she found the neutraliser, she was back over to Angela who was now on the verge of consciousness and jamming the needle into her neck.

As soon as the solution was in her, Angela passed out, frightening Moira before she saw her breathing. She felt for her pulse, worried again when she realised it was weak, but sighing with relief as she felt it grow stronger. After that, she picked Angela up and gently placed her on her desk, waiting with her for an hour to be sure that she had done no lasting damage to herself before sneaking out the room.

For the remainder of her time there, Angela never berated her decision to self experiment again.

  
  



End file.
